Try Again
by BeefDonburi95
Summary: When Rin dies of old age, Sesshomaru regrets not revealing his true feelings to her. Several centuries pass and Sesshomaru meets Aiko, a girl who looks eerily like Rin. SesshRin and SesshOC
1. Prologue

The room was silent save for the heavy breathing of the old woman resting on a futon in the center. She slept, for she wanted to save the last of her life to say good bye to a single person. Beside the dying woman sat a man with long silver hair and dog ears. He wore a solemn expression, his golden eyes glistening with tears. In his hand, the half demon clutched a red ribbon. Beside him was a young demon with a fox tail and auburn hair. The young boy had tears streaming down his face. A wolf demon set his hand on the half demon's shoulder. He too, wept and for the same reasons as the half demon.

"I miss her too, Inuyasha. It's just like...Like when Kagome..." The wolf's voice broke. Inuyasha held the old ribbon from Kagome's uniform. Her sweet scent still remained on it. He hadn't let go of it ever since he'd lost her to old age. Two elderly women wept as well beside three eternally beautiful partial demons. One dog eared girl clutched her baby to her chest, tears slipping down her pale cheek. It hurt her and her siblings to watch their father relive old hardships. The demon mother remembered her own mother's passing.

"Yet another death we must witness." She sobbed, her brothers holding her. Inuyasha nodded solemnly, more tears trailing down his cheeks.

Outside the hut, a stoic demon approached, his long silvery tresses weaving in the wind. He maintained his emotionless mask as he gently brushed aside the woven straw curtain and entered the hut. He spied the old woman sleeping weakly in the center of the room. Inuyasha turned, his eyes filled with tears

"...She doesn't have much longer, Sesshomaru." the half demon managed quietly. Sesshomaru wordlessly went the old woman's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. The old woman opened her eyes, but only just barely. She smiled

"Lord...Sessho...Maru..." She said in nearly a whisper "...You...You...came..."

Sesshomaru brushed her bangs away from her face and stroked her cheek gently

"I always have." he said "I always will."

The elderly woman shakily lifted her hand and placed it on the forever beautiful face of the demon

"You...always have..." She said. Her breathing grew steadily harsher. Koga took a deep inhalation and exited the hut. Even he had cared about the woman even after all that had happened between them. Inuyasha clutched the ribbon tighter and Shippo buried his sobs in Inuyasha's shoulder. Sesshomaru's mask of coldness slipped. Intense emotion burned in the demon's amber eyes. He held the woman's cold hand as her body began to shut down. She smiled

"...Thank you...for...everything...Lord...Sessh...o...maru..." The woman sighed.

Her hand went limp. Sesshomaru stared at the woman's face. She still smiled in death. Slowly, he rest her hand on her chest and brushed his lips against her withered ones. He closed her lifeless eyes and lifted her frail body into an embrace. The demon lord's hand shook.

"please," He pleaded as calmly as he could "Inuyasha, please leave me."

Inuyasha understood. He picked up a distraught Shippo and sauntered from the hut.

Sesshomaru's prideful mask shattered. His usually calm expression was twisted with anguish. He clenched his teeth

"Rin...Rin..." he whispered, his voice wavering. Sesshomaru's cheeks were slick with tears.

"What shall I do without you?" He whispered into the dead woman's ear. He stroked her head, combing his fingers through her gray hair

"...I will never love anyone but you."

He watched as the urn that held the ashes of his beloved Rin was lowered into a grave. Grief and regret overwhelmed the demon. Tears ghosted down his cheeks.

_I will forever be a fool for never telling her while she lived,_ he inwardly berated himself.

_I should have told her I loved her._

_**A/N: God, that was really hard for me to write. Don't worry, it will get more upbeat...eventually. Naturally, I listened to a lot of depressing music while I wrote this. TT^TT**_


	2. Chapter 1

The morning sun's gentle, rousing rays filtered through the tree branches on across the sleeping form of a young girl. Aiko groaned, feeling the light hit her face and turned over. Though she attempted to fall back into her deep sleep, the girl found herself incapable of doing so. The girl sat up drowsily and yawned, bare arms up into the air. She grabbed her glasses from her bed side table and looked at the clock.

"Good," the girl said with a relieved smile "I'm up on time."

She hated sleeping into late. Aiko got out of her bed and stretched again before heading the bathroom. On her way down the hall, she remembered that she was going to be alone for the day while her parents and brother were at work. Since summer vacation had started, the girl had been virtually alone in the house unless she went out or was visited by her friends. She closed the door to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. She pulled her pajamas off and inspected herself in the mirror. Staring back, was a short and petite fifteen year old with unruly ink black hair and inquisitive brown eyes. She sighed, scrutinizing her lack of curves. Aiko didn't hate her body, but she still looked like a little kid. The young girl removed her glasses, carefully set them on counter by the sink and got into the shower.

The rush of water made her feel wonderful and erased her drowsiness. She hummed a little song as she combed conditioner through her long hair and across her naked skin. She loved the feeling of being so clean.

The phone rang and the girl, clad only in a towel, answered it.

"Hey Ri-chan" she said, smiling brightly "How are you?...Oh, that's good. Can't wait to see your kimono...Sure, I'd love to go shopping with you today. What time?...Ok, I'll be right over then. See ya, Ri-chan!"

She set the phone on the receiver and felt herself burn with excitement.

"Wow, that is a nice dress." Aiko complimented. Rika grinned ear to ear, showing off the lovely soft pink sundress she was wearing

"I saw it and I just had to buy it! You really should get some nice dresses too, Ai-chan." she told her friend. Aiko looked down at her feet

"...You know I don't feel comfy in dresses like yours. It's not that I don't want to wear them or anything it's just..."

"My dress wouldn't probably suit you just because of the difference in our body types but there's bounds to be load of 'em here that'll make you look amazingly cute. And geez, Ai-chan! You should get a hair cut soon. You have a cute face, you shouldn't hide behind those bangs." Rika was like a big sister to Aiko. They'd been friends for most of their lives. Rika brushed pulled Aiko's hair out of their braids and swept her bangs off to the side. She stepped back and admired her handiwork

"See? You look totally cute with your hair like this."

While Rika and here walked through the mall, Aiko spied a pair of amber eyes the briefly regarded her as she passed by them but when she blinked, they were no longer there. She looked down shyly and blushed hard. Rika paused mid-sentence

"You ok Ai-chan?" She asked.

Aiko nodded her head

"Sorry. It's just that man over there..."

Rika gasped

"I see what you mean."

So Aiko hadn't been seeing things. Those strange amber eyes made her feel afraid

"You do?" she looked at her friend

"Of course! He's completely hot! He must be a model or something."

Aiko froze. She loved Rika, but she knew her friend had a one track mind.

"I guess he is handsome."

The man in question sat at a table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He had short black hair that fell to around his chin and a pretty face. It was too flawless and intimidated Aiko. What bothered her most of all was the coldness present in his eyes. Naturally, he was just Rika's type.

"How old is he, do you think Ai-chan?" Rika gushed

"Maybe nineteen or something?" To be honest, Aiko could not decipher the age of the man. Though his physical appearance was that of a young man, there was a distinct aura of maturity and wisdom found in the oldest of and wisest of men. Just who was this man, she wondered.

Aiko walked in the door of her house and slipped out of her shoes. She knew she hadn't just seen those eyes.

_Was that just me seeing things?_ she pondered, _No, it can't just be that._

The young girl heard footsteps and looked toward the hallway. He brother, wearing his usual lazy attire and shaggy dark hair waved

"Hey sis." he greeted "You should start getting ready for the festival tonight. Mom'll be home pretty soon so she can help you with your kimono."

"Ok. I'll get out my yukata then. You should get ready too, Keisuke." she motioned to his disheveled appearance and the video games that were inevitably on in his room. He grabbed his sister and noogied her

"You don't have to tell me that, sis. I'll get ready soon." he laughed. Aiko released herself from his grip and headed upstairs.

For the first time in almost five hundred years, the human disguise Sesshomaru had so effortlessly maintained had slipped. His encounter with that girl in the mall had sent waves of restlessness through him. That girl had looked like Rin. The demon sat in his apartment, recalling the time they'd spent together.

_Despite his promise to only see her once in a while and allow her to grow accustomed to human life, Sesshomaru could not deny his desire to see Rin again. He inhaled deeply, catching the sweet scent of her. He followed, gliding silently through the trees. He came upon her playing with the village children in a field. He watched her from behind the edge of the wood. He was shocked to see the changes in her. The once young and bright face of a child and blossomed into woman. She was beautiful. Sesshomaru felt as if his very breath had been stolen away from him. The way she smiled, the sound of her laughter, the way her kimono fell on her- he found himself regarding her in a new way. His feelings toward Rin had always confused him. He'd known that he loved the girl, but never had he been able to place precisely what manner of love it was. Then, looking at her, Sesshomaru knew in that instant._

_As the sun set, Rin ushered the children back to the village and to the safety of their homes before returning to her own. Though she had lived with Kaede for the remainder of her childhood, she'd decided to get her own place once she was old enough. Though she lacked spiritual powers, she still aided lady Kaede and lady Kagome with their duties as priestesses and had even learned a thing or two about medicine. She smiled, happy with the time she'd spent with the children. Rin was tired and yawned as she entered the hut._

"_A little nap couldn't hurt before dinner, I suppose." She remarked to herself, settling down onto her futon. She closed her eyes and her body relaxed._

_The moon rose high into the sky and Sesshomaru's curiosity could not be quelled. Though he'd seen her from afar, he desired a closer look at his ward's change. He quietly entered the hut and his eyes immediately fell on her peaceful, sleeping form. His cold expressed melted, raw emotion glowing in his eyes. He knelt beside the woman's sleeping form and softly touched her face. She was warm. The girl stirred in her sleep, drawing closer to him before opening her eyes slowly._

"_...My lord?" She said groggily._

"_Go back to sleep, Rin." he told her. The girl smiled and nodded, obeying him. Once asleep again, she pulled herself into his lap_

"_...lord...Sesshomaru..." She murmured. Sesshomaru placed his arms around the girl. Only in Rin's presence did Sesshomaru feel as if the cold, prideful facade he wore was useless. Rin knew his true nature, his kindness and capacity for compassion. Sesshomaru felt at peace with her. He held the girl tightly with his powerful arms. He lifted a taloned hand and looked at it then back to Rin. He was reminded of how fragile the girl was. In but a moment, the great demon lord could kill her. That thought had always filled his own heart fear. The woman sleeping in his arms was but a human, a fleeting being while he was lord Sesshomaru, the powerful and immortal demon lord of the western lands. He was careful with the girl. One wrong move and he could kill her. _

_The thought of her dead and beyond resurrection haunted Sesshomaru. He gazed down at Rin's blissful face. Slowly, he lowered her back into her bed and headed for the door. But something stopped him. His lips burned with an emotion still strange to Sesshomaru, but he knew what he wanted to do. The demon lord went back to the girl and once again knelt beside her. He lowered his face close to hers. _

I want her, _Sesshomaru thought_.

_Sesshomaru's lips brushed hers, but he pulled away. Uncertainty filled his heart. Would she feel the same way? If she didn't, he knew it was be hard to be around her. He lingered for a moment then rose and left the hut. He chose blissful ignorance._

Sesshomaru sighed, rubbing his temples and taking a drink of whiskey

"Such memories..."


End file.
